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Post #1273345

Author
DominicCobb
Parent topic
Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker - Discussion * SPOILER THREAD *
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1273345/action/topic#1273345
Date created
13-Mar-2019, 3:39 AM

DrDre said:

DominicCobb said:

Yeah you’re definitely closer to what I’m trying to say.

Basically, the argument is that (as RL stated earlier) Rey is of “purer intent” than Kylo - she’s fighting for the light and him the dark. He had a chance to take the mantle of ‘hero Skywalker’ but chose the dark path. The saber represents and recalls the weapon of the savior of the galaxy, in the PT it belongs to the “one who will bring balance,” and in the OT it belongs to the “last hope.” In the ST, the saber is metaphorical of the new mission to reignite the spark of hope and take up the fight (this is pretty explicit in TLJ, less so TFA because of rewrites). Kylo wants the saber because of his birthright, but what it represents doesn’t belong to him, it belongs to Rey. So when the lightsaber goes into Rey’s hand and not Kylo’s, in my mind the literal question of “how did it get there?” -whether the answer is that Rey is stronger in the force, Kylo was caught off guard, or the force is exerting its will - doesn’t matter. What matters is the figurative meaning of the scene - Rey has finally taken up the saber and the mantle it represents which she initially rejected, and which at this point she is more deserving of than Kylo due to who she is, and not who her parents are.

Nice one Dom! Great post! You made me appreciate TFA more!

Thanks. It’s good to know at least sometimes I say things that make sense.

What’s funny is initially Kylo’s line of “that lightsaber belongs to me” wasn’t one of my favorites. I sort of just saw it as part of an underdeveloped subplot (him collecting Vader stuff) and a remnant of an different version of the film. But I think upon further reflection, especially in light of TLJ, the line still holds a good deal of meaning for the character and story.

I’d be very curious to see what that earlier version of TFA was like, where there’s no map and everyone’s after the lightsaber. The fact that the saber represented the search for Luke/hope would have been a lot more explicit, though perhaps the biggest issue was that it was hard to figure out the non-figurative importance of the object (how would a lightsaber help them find him exactly?). But the meaning still shows through when Rey finds it and her subsequent talk with Maz, and the scene I mentioned, and of course when Rey brings it with her to Ahch-to and offers it to Luke. A meaning which continues throughout TLJ (as I believe I’ve written about before a couple times), and hopefully will continue into IX (getting back on topic). TLJ ends with the saber broken, but of course Rey’s still got it. If we were to extrapolate what TFA and TLJ are telling us, then we’ll see Rey with a repaired version of the saber, which will have something significantly different about it. In my mind losing the saber completely would go against the ethos of what’s been established for the character (i.e. not killing the past), and simply reviving the saber as it was would be lazy and also go against what has been set up (she’s forging her own path). We’ll see.